For Immediate Release
Contact: Laura Withers, 703-351-2087, [email protected]
Arlington, Va., (November 8, 2016)—In a blog post titled, “No Telco Left Behind,” NTCA Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield today urged the Federal Communications Commission, in the wake of recent publications that indicate universal service program budget shortfalls, to provide sufficient resources for these programs that enable small, community-based telecom companies to deliver quality and affordable voice and broadband services in rural America.
“ … In the past few weeks, we’ve seen the underfunding of both the model and nonmodel [high-cost Universal Service Fund] programs finally come home to roost,” Bloomfield said. “First, at the end of October, the FCC announced that those small carriers receiving nonmodel support would face on average a 9% reduction in their support for the first half of 2017 to fit within the $2 billion budget. Our initial estimate is that this may deprive nonmodel companies close to $100 million in 2017 in USF support to recover the costs of investments they have already made; it’s possible the negative budget control impact could lessen in later years, but that’s not certain and we are clearly concerned about the effects during the early years of these reforms. Then, just a few days later, the FCC announced that the additional $150 million in additional resources for those small carriers that had elected model support was $160 million less than the demand for such support.
“The sum total of these two numbers—just under $260 million—provides proof positive that the high-cost USF program for smaller carriers is woefully underfunded.”
Bloomfield noted that NTCA had previously filed for reconsideration with respect to these budget concerns, and that it plans to follow up with the FCC over the course of the next week to encourage the provision of sufficient support resources that will permit the commission’s reforms to work as intended and enable small rural operators to deliver on their promise for the benefit of rural consumers.
Full text of the blog post is available online.
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NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing more than 800 independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovation in rural and small-town America. NTCA advocates on behalf of its members in the legislative and regulatory arenas, and it provides training and development; publications and industry events; and an array of employee benefit programs. In an era of exploding technology, deregulation and marketplace competition, NTCA’s members are leading the IP evolution for rural consumers, delivering technologies that make rural communities vibrant places in which to live and do business. Because of their efforts, rural America is fertile ground for innovation in economic development and commerce, education, health care, government services, security and smart energy use. Visit us at www.ntca.org.